Having risen to the challenge of seas, poles, and deserts, where else could Monty Python alumnus Michael Palin go but over the highest mountains on earth? This illustrated companion to the BBC documentary series Himalaya follows Palin's full-length journey from the Pakistan-Afghan frontier through India, Nepal, Tibet, and Younnan in China, before recrossing the mountains to Assam, Bhutan, and Bangladesh. Accompanying Palin's naturally humorous yet gentlemanly text are vivid photographs, from having a chat with the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala to washing an elephant (apparently Palin was one in his previous incarnation) in Kaziranga National Park.